The Power of Architecture
Graduation Project | Rana Sadek | Fall 2011
Tannery district “Al Madabegh” has been laying in Magra El Oyoun since the Fatimid era. The government is relocating the Tannery industry; thus the project attempts to foresee the area’s urban renewal scheme. After assessing the needs of the working community and the existing urban pattern of activities; the program visualizes the locals and introduces new function in building for income generation. The power of architecture lies in economic development to empower the community that rightly lead to the rehabilitation of the area while maintain the spirit of the place with its complex stratification of spaces and uses.. The target group is the local leather hand crafters; they take tanned leather and transform it to handmade leather products. The proposed design focuses on how it can assist employment generation/training and strengthening the skills of the workers. The open areas can be redesigned to accommodate public spaces accessed by the different users to accommodate social activities. Abandoned buildings can be reused as spaces for galleries and exhibitions for the finished products. The power of architecture lies in the socio-economic development of community and the preservation of the heritage; where both should be integrated to lead to the architectural conservation of the area.